We are launching this campaign to cover Lisa's health costs. She has incurred $50,000 in health expenses since falling ill at the end of 2019. These expenses include:

In September 2019, our daughter, Lisa Spring, contracted a respiratory virus which turned into symptoms that got so bad she couldn’t speak. This began a lengthy process of doctors’ appointments, tracking symptoms and dealing with a myriad of issues from a deep debilitating cough to being completely bedridden, unable to speak or feed herself for nearly a year.

In July of 2020 Lisa was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS. She kept track of her symptoms throughout that time and at one point counted 90 different symptoms. “It was really scary. I felt like my cells were disintegrating. And as I learned more about the illness, it is an illness that affects the cells, so it makes sense I felt that way.”

Lisa learned to monitor her heart rate as a guide to knowing how much she can exert herself. She practices several healing modalities for hours every day and has finally started to improve. “My cells now have the capacity to make about 25% of the energy of a healthy person. So anytime I go over that 25%, that will trigger a crash.” She can be dealing with side effects of the crash for days or weeks after. With the complexity of the illness and debilitating fatigue, Lisa is still mostly bed-bound and uses a reclining wheelchair when she is not in bed. She needs many accommodations to support her daily life.

“While this illness is challenging to live with, I am grateful for what I have learned during this experience. I have learned to listen to my body, to make peace with my symptoms, and to connect with a worth that goes much deeper than what I am able to physically do.”

Lisa has exhausted her finances on health interventions not covered by Manitoba Health, and has had to defer essential repairs on her home due to her low disability income. Her home has been assessed as not worth putting money into necessary repairs and upgrades. She gained access to a power wheelchair through a provincial program, however to facilitate transportation, Lisa needs a van adapted to that wheelchair.

You may make deposits or E-transfers into a community account at the Steinbach Credit Union under the name “Lisa Spring Accessibility Fund”. For E-transfers, please contact John at the contact info supplied.

See also: steinbachonline “‘I treat hope like a job’; living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.”

https://www.steinbachonline.com/articles/i-treat-hope-like-a-job-living-with-myalgic-encephalomyelitis-chronic-fatigue-syndrome